10 Guardians Of The Galaxy Comic Characters We Want To See In The MCU

James Gunn's "Guardians of the Galaxy" films (as well as the accompanying "Holiday Special") have greatly expanded the narrative possibilities of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Audiences have been treated to countless characters, creatures, and worlds, all of which have been delivered with Gunn's signature combination of imagination and wit. Of course, as wild and fresh as the cosmic elements of the MCU are, there's been no shortage of heart. Gunn was given the unenviable task of making us care about a cadre of characters including a sentient tree and a foul-mouthed raccoon and pulled it off with flying colors. With the writer and director moving over to lead DC Studios, fans can't help but wonder about the future of the Guardians of the Galaxy and their unique place in the MCU.

Luckily, there are plenty of characters from the comics who've either been a part of the team or had run-ins with them that would make great additions to Marvel's ever-growing franchise. One of the more fascinating aspects of everyone's favorite group of spacefaring misfits is that they have a considerably longer and more complex history than many other characters in the MCU. While the cinematic lineup of the team is primarily based on Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning's 2008 comic book run, the origins actually go back to the late 1960s, with plenty of rotating rosters leading up to the one we're most familiar with today. Here are 10 "Guardians of the Galaxy" comic characters we want to see in the MCU.

Annihilus is one of the oldest villains in the Marvel Comics universe and is mainly associated with the Fantastic Four. He's an insectoid entity and longtime ruler of the Negative Zone, a mostly uninhabited alternate dimension made up of negatively-charged particles. Because of his megalomania, he's driven by an intense urge to conquer everything and live forever. An extremely powerful character, Annihilus equipped himself with a suit of enhanced armor that protects him from most physical attacks and has wings enabling him to fly at incredibly fast speeds. Another reason he's so dangerous is his Cosmic Control Rod, which allows him to emit energy blasts and manipulate matter. The character was one of the primary antagonists in 2006's "Annihilation" crossover. This comic book event focused on the cosmic side of the Marvel Comics universe, including a number of characters who would go on to form the modern lineup of the Guardians of the Galaxy.

An obvious reason to bring Annihilus into the MCU is that he just looks really freaking cool; think Kro from "Eternals" mixed with the advanced Ultron form from "Avengers: Age of Ultron." I mean, who wouldn't want to see a massive lizard-like creature in high-tech armor up on the big screen? Also, with a "Fantastic Four" movie in the works from Marvel Studios, the character would serve as a bridge between the cosmic side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the dimension-hopping adventures of Marvel's First Family. Kevin Feige would be crazy to ignore the storytelling potential of that connection.

The Stark first appeared in Jim Valentino's early-1990s run on "Guardians of the Galaxy" and are a race of alien creatures from another dimension. They have a fascinating backstory: In this reality, Martians have invaded Earth, provoking Tony Stark into launching a repository of his technology at the attackers in an attempt to hinder their efforts. Instead, his tech ends up on a distant planet and in the hands of a primitive species that integrated Stark's tech into their physiology — even going so far as to worship and name themselves after the man whose work helped them to evolve. Unfortunately, the maintenance of their appropriated technology destroys their planet, forcing them to travel around the galaxy to rob other worlds of their resources to perpetuate their own race.

Tony Stark may be dead in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but his technology still plays a key role in the franchise, especially since the studio is working on an adaption of the classic "Armor Wars" storyline from the comics. This is a great way to preserve Iron Man's legacy, as well as deliver an interesting cautionary tale on the dangers of letting technology fall into the wrong hands. An alien race upgrading itself with tech from another planet is a really fascinating premise and could force the Guardians of the Galaxy and the MCU's Earth-bound heroes to team up. Also, Taserface, who we saw in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," is the leader of the Stark, so there are plenty of connections already in place for this to happen.

The Badoon, like the Kree and the Skrulls, are one of the oldest malevolent alien races in Marvel Comics history. This species has an oddly outdated view of gender roles; the males have been in charge for much of their existence and dedicate themselves to spreading their empire by conquering other planets, all while their pacifist female counterparts stay on their home planet, completely unaware of the males' violent colonizing endeavors. Some of their earliest clashes are with heroes such as the Silver Surfer, Namor the Submariner, the New Warriors, and the X-Men. Despite their warring tendencies, the Badoon have on occasion joined forces with other alien empires, such as the Brood and the Kree.

Is there more room in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for yet another alien race? You bet there is. Right off the bat, the Badoon's old-timey take on gender roles would put them in direct opposition to the Guardians' more ... well, libertine ... approach to the relationships between men and women. While it might be a bit controversial to delve into the Badoon's gender dynamics, the idea of having half a race conquering entire worlds while the other half remains oblivious is quite interesting. Also, the Badoon have a lot of history and ties to other characters, both existing in the MCU as well as those we've yet to see on the big screen yet. Having the Badoon forge an alliance with another alien race would be perfect for a huge crossover movie down the line.

Despite having close ties to the cosmic side of the Marvel Comics universe, Malevolence actually has a more mystical origin as the daughter of Mephisto, a demonic entity you don't want to make any deals with. In fact, you shouldn't make any deals with Malevolence, either; like her father, she's got a mischievous side paired with a lust for power that makes her incredibly dangerous. Mephisto charged her with the task of forging an alliance with an intergalactic outlaw group called the Force. However, this puts her into conflict with Aleta Ogord of the original Guardians of the Galaxy. While Malevolence makes numerous other attempts to rise to power, the Guardians always show up to put an end to her Machiavellian schemes.

It'd be great to see the occult collide with science fiction on the big screen. There are a few existing anchors in the MCU that could help pave the way for the character's appearance. For example, we briefly saw Aleta Ogord — someone who Malevolence has a history with — among the original lineup of the Guardians at the end of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2." Also, like Gamora, Malevolence has a deep hatred of her father, which could give her a sympathetic edge, making her more than just an evil trickster.

Despite Moondragon's association with the cosmic side of Marvel Comics, she actually is of human origin. She was born in L.A. as Heather to Arthur Douglas and Yvette Steckley, a typical happy family. However, that was all disrupted when they encountered Thanos and he killed Heather's parents. Heather was then adopted by Thanos' father Mentor and taken to their homeworld Titan, where she was raised by monks. It was during her time with them that she developed her dormant psychic abilities while also being taught to be an incredibly dangerous hand-to-hand combatant.

There's so much more to the character than can be included here, but that description alone is enough to see why she should join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She's got a great look that would make her stand out from the other heroes, and she also has the ability to transform into a giant space dragon, which offers some really cool visual potential. Plus, there's an interesting connection that Moondragon has in the comics that can be explored on the big screen: She's the long-lost daughter of the Guardians of the Galaxy's Drax (to make a long story short, Arthur Douglas had his spirit removed from his human body and placed into that of a more powerful being designed to kill Thanos). Drax did say that Thanos killed his family in the first "Guardians of the Galaxy" film, so wouldn't it be a touching surprise to see him reunite with someone he thought was dead?

Angela is one of the more complex characters in Marvel Comics, and it has more to do with her origin outside of the comics. She is a fierce warrior angel who was originally created by writer Neil Gaiman and artist Todd McFarlane, first appearing in McFarlane's series, "Spawn," owned by Image Comics. However, after some legal issues, the character's rights returned to Gaiman, and Angela was introduced into the Marvel universe in the "Age of Ultron" crossover. During that storyline, she's pulled from Heven, provoking her to head to Earth in a rage to demand some answers. However, on the way there, she meets the Guardians of the Galaxy and becomes a member of the team for a while. It's later revealed in the "Original Sin" crossover that she's the long-lost sister of Thor, further entrenching her into the Marvel Comics universe.

Since "Thor: Ragnarok" revealed that Thor's sister is Hela, it's probably best for Feige and Co. to not repeat that plot point if they ever bring Angela into the MCU. Still, the mystical side of the character could be explained with some help from Doctor Strange, or she could just be established as another warrior god. Since the MCU is going full-steam ahead with the multiverse concept, its creators can have some meta fun with the introduction of Angela, like she could've "spawned" from a reality of "images," but was placed into their reality by the "god of dreams" (true comic book nerds will understand these references).

Bug is an insectoid alien character who originally appeared in Marvel's "Micronauts" comic book series, which was based on the toy line of the same name. The premise involves a team of heroes as they fight off villains in a microscopic dimension known as the Microverse. Because the series was based on another property, its place in the Marvel Comics universe is a little hazy, although some of their characters made their way into the series, including Molecule Man and Mentallo. After the "Micronauts" series ended, Bug didn't play a big part in the comics until "Annihilation: Conquest," which saw him join forces with Star-Lord and eventually join the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Bug's got some cool abilities that'd make him a fun addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe; he can stick to walls, is an extraordinary hand-to-hand combatant, and has antennae that give him extrasensory talents. He's also got a wry sense of humor, perfect for undercutting the awe and wonder of the more cosmic side of the MCU. Sure, his insectoid look may seem a little redundant with Mantis hanging around, but can you imagine the hilarious antics they'd get up to together? Unfortunately, there's a good chance that we'll never see Bug up on the big screen; "Guardians of the Galaxy" writer and director James Gunn has confirmed Marvel doesn't own the rights to the character and can't feature him in their movies. That still won't stop me from hoping for a miracle, though.

These two Vances are sort of the same character but, because of comic book logic, are also two different characters. Major Vance Astro was a brilliant young astronaut who volunteered for Project: Starjump, the U.S.'s first crewed interstellar mission. He was put into suspended animation for the centuries-long journey, during which his psychic abilities only grew stronger. He awoke in a distant future in a distant part of the universe and eventually joined the first iteration of the Guardians of the Galaxy. However, there's a younger alternate-reality version of Vance Astro who's visited by the major and warned about his future. This leads the boy to go down a different path, still with his psionic powers, but growing up to become a different hero named Justice — even joining such teams as the New Warriors and the Avengers.

It's a pretty wacky origin story for a character, but one that I think would fit quite nicely in the multiversal direction the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been going in lately. We saw most of the roster of the original Guardians of the Galaxy in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," with Major Vance Astro noticeably missing — does Marvel Studios have plans for him in the future? There were plans for a New Warriors TV series that ultimately fell through, which means that there's still a possibility for us to see Justice in a future project. The stage is more than set for both of these characters to make their MCU debut.

Nikki hails from Mercury in the far-flung future and eventually became an early member of the original Guardians of the Galaxy. Because she had spent so much of her life isolated, Nikki was aching for some thrills, which is why she ended up falling in with the ragtag group of misfits. As a genetically-engineered being, she was designed with the ability to endure the brutal conditions of living on Mercury and has enhanced physical resilience, acrobatic gifts, weapons training, and is capable of generating intense heat energy that she can direct at enemies.

One of the most obvious reasons to introduce Nikki into the Marvel Cinematic Universe is her extremely cool — or, rather – hot look. While she's technically bald, because of her pyrokinetic powers, she's got a hairdo made of fire. Equipped with a whimsical, swashbuckling personality and a hunger for danger, Nikki offers plenty of opportunities for zany antics. And since the MCU has been making a more concerted effort to bring in more female heroes from the comics, it only makes sense that Nikki is given her grand cinematic entrance.

Phyla-Vell is a relatively new character in the Marvel Comics universe, as she made her first appearance in 2004's "Captain Marvel" Vol. 5 #16. However, she's played an important role in the cosmic side of things and has undergone numerous major changes, operating under such aliases as Quasar, Captain Marvel, and Martyr. She has a complicated background, but the important parts are that she is genetically engineered and has a deep connection to the original Captain Marvel, also known as Mar-Vell. She meets and develops a romantic relationship with Moondragon, and the two become integral parts of two major crossover events, "Annihilation" and "Annihilation: Conquest." Following these events, she was featured in 2008's revamp of "Guardians of the Galaxy," which sees her give up her life to save Moondragon and become the embodiment of the cosmic entity Oblivion.

If Marvel Studios is ever going to introduce Moondragon into its shared cinematic universe, it's basically a law that they bring in Phyla-Vell. Because of her connections to the original Captain Marvel, she can easily serve as a bridge between the "Captain Marvel" and "Guardians of the Galaxy" franchises. Plus, the inclusion of Phyla-Vell would be an easy way to bring in some more representation; Marvel Studios should go all in and give her and Moondragon their own Disney+ series.